Software Engineer II - Query Processing

The Query Processing team at Ocient handles the full landscape of parsing, validating, optimizing and executing SQL queries. The team ensures queries are correct and valid, the SQL is lowered into an optimal, executable representation, and the resulting plan is efficiently executed over petabytes of data across tens to hundreds of nodes. Query Processing works closely with our Test Infrastructure, Quality Assurance and Customer Operations teams to evaluate and improve performance on existing and new customer workloads, while also implementing new functionality to enable customer success. We are seeking a software engineer with strong interests in performance optimization and analysis - someone who enjoys analytical thinking and tackling abstract problems in the context of distributed database systems. What You’ll Work On:

• Contribute to the ongoing improvement of query processing efficiency through collaboration on design, implementation, and performance analysis across the system
• Actively participate in code reviews and design discussions, offering constructive feedback and learning from peers
• Demonstrate curiosity and have a penchant for research and abstract thinking, bringing in novel ideas, tools, or techniques to improve system performance and reliability
• Help triage and debug issues found in both production and test environments, contributing to root cause analysis and resolution
• Engage in improving team processes and culture by sharing feedback and contributing to a positive, inclusive work environment
• Support the growth of fellow engineers through collaboration, pairing, and knowledge sharing

Software Engineering, Ecosystems, Artificial Intelligence (AI), IBM Product Family, Engineering Management, Interviewing Skills, Testing, Quality Assurance, Software Engineering, Performance Management, * The salary offered for this position will be based on a candidate’s experience and skill demonstrated during interviews and other evaluations, * BS, MS, or PhD in computer science, computer engineering, or related technical field

• 2+ years of industry experience writing code to solve complex problems using an object-oriented programming language (e.g. C++, Java, C#)
• 1+ years work experience as a Software Engineer working in Python or similar test infrastructure language, and experience measuring performance in compiled languages
• Strong understanding and application of data structures and algorithms.
• Direct experience with testing performance of data warehouses and data analytics engines preferred
• Experience developing on Linux and in large, version-controlled projects
• Ability to speak and write in English fluently

Ocient is building OcientAIQ - a complete ecosystem for delivering trusted agentic AI solutions at petabyte scale, for the organizations that can’t afford to get AI wrong. Our customers protect networks, secure nations, and power the global economy. The problems we solve are genuinely hard, and the work matters. Founded in 2016 by the team that built Cleversafe (acquired by IBM in 2015), Ocient is headquartered in Chicago with a remote-first global team. We are a carbon-neutral company backed by leading investors including Greycroft, OCA Ventures, In-Q-Tel, and Buoyant Ventures.